TDM Excellence Awards - SANDAG
Congratulations to SANDAG, the 2025 TDM Excellence Award winner for the MPO/RPC category.
MPOs/Regional Planning Councils play a vital role in shaping mobility. Through thoughtful planning, strategic coordination, and collaborative leadership, these organizations drive the development and implementation of TDM strategies that serve entire regions.
ACT is pleased to recognize the San Diego Association of Governments for this year’s TDM Excellence Award. Through its Sustainable Transportation Services (STS) program, SANDAG has built a comprehensive, community-driven approach to Transportation Demand Management that reaches across sectors, neighborhoods, and populations.
At the heart of their work is a commitment to behavior change and mode shift. SANDAG’s long-time Employer Program has supported over 800 employers (including 200 in the past year alone), representing more than 420,000 commuters. These employers are reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips at a rate six times faster than the county average. And through its Diamond Awards, SANDAG recognizes and celebrates organizations that demonstrate leadership in sustainable commuting—137 employers earned this honor in 2025.
But SANDAG’s reach goes far beyond the workplace. Their Try Transit program expanded in 2024 to include community-based organizations, housing developers, and property managers. One standout example was their partnership with Bayside Community Center, serving a primarily senior, non-English-speaking population. The result? 853 transit rides from just 46 participants, with 91% saying they would continue using transit after the program ended. That’s accessibility and impact in action.
SANDAG’s School Commuter Program, offers customized commuter program for staff, parents, and students, including bike classes, carpool/vanpool matching events, and free transit passes. The eights schools and one district participating this year, brought in over 800 student responses to their first-ever school commute survey, helping lay the groundwork for youth-focused TDM strategies that are data-driven and scalable.
In 2025, SANDAG responded swiftly to the federal Return to Office mandate, engaging San Diego’s substantial military workforce. Within one month, they hosted multiple on-site events, distributed 391 Try Transit cards, and generated over 4,800 transit trips with 88% of participants saying they’d continue commuting by transit. They also helped launch nine new vanpools, enabling over 60 military personnel to share rides to work.
What makes SANDAG’s work truly exceptional is its replicability. Their flexible, multi-tiered outreach model has been successfully adapted for schools, military bases, and underserved communities. Their programs are built on strong partnerships, inclusive design, and a deep understanding of local needs. Other MPOs can look to SANDAG’s model for inspiration on how to scale TDM across diverse audiences.
From reducing emissions and vehicle miles traveled to empowering commuters and building regional resilience, SANDAG is setting the standard for what MPO-led TDM can achieve. Congratulations to SANDAG on this well-deserved recognition as the 2025 TDM Excellence Award recipient for a Metropolitan Planning Organization!